Part of the reason might be that, according to Smith, Vice had already had astronomical success with running its own channels in Europe.

In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Smith was asked how Vice would fill out the big programming requirements of a 24-hour network.

He replied that the company found success leveraging its old videos for TV audiences in Greece and Serbia. "They packaged [old videos] in a really smart way, and Vice went from being an online thing to a block to a network there. Now, 15% of media consumption in Greece is Vice."

That wasn't even the biggest number.

"Now we're 25% of the market in Serbia," he continued. That's a bold claim.

If that's true, it's easy to imagine why Smith is rosy on the future of Vice's 24-hour cable play. Viceland launches on February 29, and is a partnership between Vice and A&E Networks, which took a $250 million stake in Vice in 2014. The channel with go live in 70 million homes with providers like Time Warner Cable, Comcast, DirecTV-AT&T, and Dish.